>> welcome to the "journal" coming to you from deutsche welle in berlin. and at our headlines for you at this hour -- three kurdish activists have been found shot dead in paris. >> ireland says the eu must reach a decision on easing its debt burden. >> the world's first museum exhibition dedicated specifically to u.s. film director martin scorsese is opening in berlin.

>> three women kurdish activists have been shot dead in paris. one of the victims includes a co-founder of the militant nationalist pkk. the women were shot in the kurdish information center in paris. >> no motive has yet been established. the killings, one day after turkish leaders report they agreed on a draft agreement that could lead to the rebel movement laying down its weapons. kurdish information center in paris. the victims were three women last in a live in the building on wednesday afternoon and found dead there early thursday. the french interior minister visited the crime scene and spoke of an execution. french president francois hollande said he was shaken. >> it is horrible. there were three of them, one of whom i knew personally. >> the turkish prime minister

asked for patience. >> these killings might be an internal affair of the pkk. >> in paris, the crowds of kurds outside the crime scene were not in a patient's mood. some of them blame the killings on turkey and are calling on europe to stand with them. >> where are the french? where is the solidarity? i think that the state of turkey did this. i think that the whole of europe knows they did this. >> one of the victims was a founder of the pkk separatist group. pkk militants and turkish separatist groups have fought on and off since 2004. tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict. the two sides have had peace talks in recent months. some speculate the murders in paris could be an attempt by hardliners to derail those talks. french police now face an

investigation with explosive political implications. >> pakistani police say at least 56 people have been killed and another 100 injured in twin blasts. the attacks took place in the city of quetta. >> witnesses say the first explosion was a suicide bombing. a car bomb went off 10 minutes later as emergency teams and police rushed to the scene of the first blast. the leftist government in venezuela starts a new term in office today despite the absence of president hugo chavez who remains in cuba. the supreme court has ruled that chavez can take his oath of office as a late -- his oath of office at a later date when his condition has improved. big celebrations are getting under way in the venezuelan capital in support of the ailing president with several other latin american leaders attending

events. >> chavez won a comfortable victory for a fourth term despite his health problems. later on, we will talk to a latin-american expert to talk about chavez and his government, but right now, a car bomb has exploded close to the defense ministry in tel aviv. at least four people have been injured. police believe the bombing is a criminal act and not one linked to palestinian militants. >> it is thought the target was the head of a notorious israeli mob. a motorcyclist was seen attaching an explosive device to a vehicle in which the man was believed to be sitting. he has already survived eight previous assassination attempts. the irish government has called on the european union to ease terms on its multi-billion euro bailout loan. the irish prime minister has told eu officials that solving his country's debt crisis is his top priority.

>> the eu commission president was in dublin on thursday for a meeting to coincide with ireland taking over the rotating presidency. he also praised the irish government's efforts to bring its debt down. >> the irish prime minister and his deputy are looking ahead to six months at the helm of europe. it is a chance to tout ireland as proof that the u.'s reforms for the debt crisis can work. >> economic growth was stronger than expected at the end of last year. the deficit is lower than predicted. >> the irish government itself is confident. it aims to use its experience to help the e you find a way out of the current crisis. >> obviously, the president and his team are very conscious of ireland's own recovery story. we will work very diligently and energetically in terms of our agenda.

>> ireland's first task will be to forge compromise on the eu budget in february. other priorities are boosting growth and progress toward an effective e you banking union. ireland hopes that will allow it to strike a deal on reducing the debt it incurred in bailing out its banking sector. brussels says that is unlikely. the >> it is highly questionable weather the european bailout fund can indeed be capitalized -- re-capitalize banks retroactively. >> politicians expect ireland to adopt a fair chance on issues such as tax dumping. many are critical of ireland's aggressive tax policy. >> the european central bank is keeping interest rates on hold at a record low at 0.75%. >> at its first policy meeting of the year on thursday, the ecb

president acknowledged that the eurozone economy will remain weak in the coming months, but he forecast a recovery towards the end of the year. >> there were no big surprises as mario draghi announced the results of the ecb's first policy meeting of 2013. the ecb will keep interest rates at their historic low of 0.75%. at the end of last year, there was speculation it might lower rates even further, but draghi said the governing council's decision had been unanimous. despite signs that the eurozone has turned a corner, the ecb president cautioned that it is still too early to claim success. >> the economic weakness in the euro area is expected to extend into 2013. in particular, necessary balance sheet adjustments in financial sectors and persistent uncertainty will continue to weigh on economic activity.

>> the ecb says figures will not reflect an upturn in the eurozone economy until the second half of the year. >> let's move on to the a stock market action. after getting a boost from that ecb optimism, the rally then faded off in frankfurt. our correspondence sent us this summary from the frankfurt stock exchange. >> unanimously, the 23 members of the council of the european central bank decided against lower interest rates for euroland, which means compared with other regions of the world, investing in the euro returns higher interest than investing in other currencies. this outlook pushed the price for one euro above $1.32 in the course of this trading day. the stock market, which had done quite nicely during the first half of the trading day, did not manage to hold these gains until the end of trading. looks like a few investors were

disappointed about the ecb's decision in terms of interest rates. lowering would have reduced the price of borrowing for companies. >> we say in frankfurt for a closer look at the numbers. nothing to dramatic -- the dax finished the day down just slightly. the euro stoxx 50 managing to finish the day with very slight gains. across the atlantic at this hour, the dow doing pretty good, up by more than 1/3 of 1%. the euro also higher against the greenback, trading at this hour at a value of $1.3260. the global economic slowdown and the eurozone debt crisis have, of course, affected the auto sector. europe has seen an overall drop in the sale of cars. >> but not in all categories. german luxury brands are still doing well. bmw has released figures showing

healthy profits in 2012. then the bmw is overtaking them all. almost everywhere in the world. the munich-based carmaker reported healthy sales last year, not just in china and the united states but also in europe. worldwide, some 1.5 million cars were purchased in 2012, an increase of almost 12% and a new record. vw subsidiary audi also scored a record, selling 1.4 million high-and cars and posting similar gains. mercedes sales hit a record high as well with 1.3 million cars sold around the world, up almost 5% on the previous year. mercedes, however, finds itself in the slow lane in china. the stuttgart-based company's pour sales were mostly self- afflicted. it had supply chain problems. the parent company says it wants to catch up with bmw and audi and is targeting 2020 as the year it hopes to be back on top

of the luxury sector. >> global food prices fell by 7% in 2012 according to the united nations food and agriculture organization, which did its final monthly audit of a basket of food commodities for the end of the year. >> prices for grains surged last summer due to a drought in america. the fao had warned of a potential food crisis, but a combination of international cooperation and falling demand help to ensure the spike was short-lived. still, the fao says food prices will remain at a high level when viewed historically, and they are likely to remain there throughout the coming year. >> well, on to hollywood now. the nominations are in for what are considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film world -- the oscars. >> leading the pack -- steven spielberg's new film, "lincoln"

receiving a total 12 nominations. daniel day-lewis is in for a third best actor and actress. the film "life of pi" received 11 nominations. "amour" has been nominated really in both best foreign language category and best film, and the oldest ever nominee for best actress at 85. the oscars will be handed out on february 24. well, a director acknowledged as one of the all-time greatest, martin scorsese, is being honored here in berlin. >> a special exhibition to celebrate his work and films has opened in the german capital. this is the first exhibition of its kind on the american director who recently celebrated his 70th birthday. >> he is known for spectacular cinematography and often graphic

violence. the blood-stained shirt worn by robert deniro in "cape fear court a man is one of the exhibits. martin scorsese help the museum put together the collection. >> it was only on a very few rare occasions and for understandable reasons that he said no -- because something was too personal or it was not suitable. he opened of his archives, and his assistants were very helpful. >> scorsese made robert deniro into a hollywood star. over the last four decades, they have collaborated on eight films, including "taxi driver." his characters are anti heroes, loners who struggle to find their place in society and are often just as obsessive as the director himself. >> he is obsessive about film in the best possible way, but when you talk to him, you are bombarded by associations that are hard to keep up with.

they might start on a single scene but end with an analysis of the entire history of movies. >> martin scorsese is renowned for his eye for detail. still photographs document the painstaking work behind the camera on one of his film sets. the highlight of the exhibition is an installation with four screens of scorsese films -- a unique tribute to the work of one of hollywood's great. >> well, onto sports now, and the dakar rally in south america. >> after picking up two stage wins, one driver went off the course in stage five, losing ground to the race's overall leader, the defending champion. the frenchman's teammate took the stage win, putting him in

fifth place. >> coming up after the break, we will be looking at the still popular hugo chavez. >> and we will be looking at a high-profile visit to north korea. stay with us for that.

>> welcome back. we begin by taking a fresh look at venezuela. one of the reasons he got travis has been able to remain in power for so long there is because of the fast money generated by the country's oil reserves -- one of the reasons hugo chavez has been able to remain in power. >> drilling for treasure -- lots of it. 300 billion barrels of oil are hidden under venezuela's soil. it is one of the most oil-rich countries in the world. a natural wealth that president chavez has used to tackle poverty, with success. when he became president, almost

half the population lived below the poverty line. today, it is less than 1/3. in poor neighborhoods, social services have considerably improved. nevertheless, venezuela still has major problems. the crime rate is very high. there were over 19,000 homicides in 2011 alone. the capital caracas is one of the most dangerous places in the world. many young people in particular are dissatisfied. student protests for better education and better prospects have increased in recent years, as have police crackdowns. chavez has sought to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, fidel castro, casting himself as the leader of a new form of socialism for all of latin america. his aggressive foreign policy toward latin america and its

allies like columbia has fostered regional pride and assertiveness across latin america. >> if the yankee imperialists promoted and armed aggression against venezuela, i updated it from colombian territory or from wherever, we would simply suspend oil deliveries to the united states. we would do that even if we have to eat stones. than not oil plays a key role in venezuelas foreign policy. chavez maintains a close strategic relationship with his neighbors and is hailed as a benefactor by the countries to which he sells oil at discount rates. problems remain on the domestic front. venezuela still imports more than 2/3 of the foodstuffs it

requires. in 2011, inflation was at 27%, and the country's foreign debt has risen from $35 billion in 2002 to more than $66 billion today. after his latest election -- reelection, hugo chavez vowed to continue his socialist revolution, but it is uncertain weather his health will allow him to return to office. >> for more on this now, we are joined by a representative from the iberian institute. the opposition appears to have accepted the supreme court verdict. did this surprise you? >> it does not really surprise me because the imposition is not very strong. chavez got almost 60% of the vote, and the opposition also plost regional elections in december. so there's no real opposition to force in venezuela.

it would be very difficult for the opposition to really dispute the supreme court decision yesterday. >> a critical tv station has been banned from broadcasting reports about this controversy. while chavez may have eradicated some party, has he also in the process eradicated democracy? >> this is a rather complicated question because we are talking about eradicating democracy. we should first look at the situation of democracy in venezuela before chavez. we cannot speak about a very strong democracy before 1999. if we take democracy only as electoral successes, then there is no doubt about it. if we take it as different powers, freedom of speech, a

plurality of pluralism, then there are a lot of doubts about democracy and the quality of democracy in venezuela. >> there was a strong show of support today for chavez. he is quite popular still, but if he does not get better, how can his followers follow his policies? >> it would be very difficult because charisma is very important and has been very important for chavez during his whole presidency, but at least today, his role is very strong and said the venezuelan state, so for a few years, it should be no problem for the government to continue even without chavez. >> thank you for that. germany's justice minister has criticized the country's catholic church for halting its investigation into a sex abuse

scandal, saying attempts to clear up the allegations should not be a half-hearted affair. >> this comes as catholic bishops fired the lead investigator into abuse allegations going back for decades, since they first surfaced in 2010. thousands of people have come forward saying they were abused by priests. >> the same church was once a scene of sex abuse incidents in germany. a parish priest molested thomas when he was an altar boy. other children were also be used, but the church turned a blind eye. he says the latest decision shows how little things have changed. >> it does not surprise me. apparently the church wanted to keep control, manipulating information and spending it to serve its interests. >> in 2011, the church commission hired a criminologist to compile a comprehensive survey of known sex abuse cases

in german church in trichet -- institutions. now, pfeiffer says several diocese tried to obstruct his work, despite earlier promises of cooperation. the church has a different view, saying he was too casual in his handling of confidential information. >> i reject claims that we limit their freedom in conducting research. the opposite is true. >> the government's expert on child abuse has also weighed in, saying the church study could make an important contribution to understanding sexual abuse of minors. >> it should include an analysis of perpetrator strategies in a church environment, and detail how the church has dealt with cases of abuse when they became known as well as the action it took. >> the church says it will now find a new institutes to complete the study. thomas, one time altar boy and abuse victim, intends to watch them closely. >> for more on this now, we are joined by our political correspondent.

this decision to stop the steady -- how badly has it damage the reputation of the church? >> pretty badly. the head of the german central committee of catholics said that he viewed the damage is very grave indeed, and, certainly, criticism is coming from the very highest levels. as you mentioned, the german justice minister has spoken out today. she said that the whole incident calls into question the church's real willingness to get to the bottom of the abuse scandal, and she went to bat for the academic who was supposed to have carried out this study. perhaps the church is therefore now making an effort to silence him. it has said that it will be seeking a legal injunction to stop him from claiming that there was any form of censorship, but weather that is likely to help its case can be doubted. >> this study was on the initiative of the church. how about the political efforts to get to the bottom of this abuse scandal? >> some victim groups are calling for more political

involvement, saying we might need a parliamentary inquiry commission or perhaps stronger laws. the government does have its own commissioner for abuse issues, as we can see in the report, and he was not calling for such drastic measures today. he did say he will be looking for the church to get serious about investigations. >> thank you. >> the unicef national committee for germany and the child protection organization and pat are calling for better protection and assistance for victims of child trafficking. >> they issued their appeal prior to the broadcast of operation sugar. >> the film focuses on the fate of the abducted and abused children, especially in eastern europe. our report has more. >> operation sugar tells the story of a 10-year-old girl from romania who is sold into prostitution by her father.

she goes to berlin where she is forced to work at a brothel. the film is fiction, but the subject matter is real. the unicef says poor families in eastern europe sometimes sell their families to traffic -- sell their family members to traffickers, often in the mistaken hope that they will find a better life. >> in romania, which is a european union country, some children are still not registered. no one knows where they are born or that they are alive, and so they can just disappear. >> once over the border, traffickers threaten to hurt the children's families if they speak out. that makes it difficult to investigate, and when arrests are made, it is usually low- level figures, rather than the kingpins to control things. >> it is a whole network -- there are procurers, smoke and prostitutes, money launderers, forgers, and professional

smugglers. >> unicef says victims who want to speak out must be better protected and should not be deported. only their testimony can help combat this billion-euro business. >> that is it for us now. just to recap one of our top stories -- the kurdish activists have been shot in found in paris earlier on this morning. >> another story we're following -- pakistani police say at least 56 people have been killed in another 100 -- and another 100 injured in twin bomb blasts. >> for more information, find us on dw.de. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--